This invention relates to a composition that is used in connection with medical devices that are in contact with sputum, such as endotracheal or tracheostomy tubes. Patients who require mechanical ventilations are often intubated with endotracheal or tracheostomy tubes. The formation of mucus in the respiratory tract is a normal part of host defense. Sputum is an accumulation of mucus that cannot be easily removed from the respiratory tract by normal mucociliary clearance. Sputum is usually cleared by a deep cough. Thus, in a mechanically ventilated patient, the endotracheal intubation greatly compromises the normal mucociliary transport system leading to build-up of large volumes of sputum in the lungs. Mucus build-up in conjunction with implanted airway devices also leads to blockage in an evacuation tube.
Furthermore, secretions from the oral cavity can get accumulated on the cuff of the endotracheal tube (ETT). Continuous exposure of the lower respiratory tract to large numbers of potential pathogens through the endotracheal tube and the micro aspiration (leakage) around the cuff into the lower respiratory tract can lead to air way infection or ventilator associated pneumonia (VAP).
VAP is considered one of the most serious and costly hospital-acquired infections. Approximately 8-28% of patients on ventilators develop VAP, which adds at least $20,000-40,000 to the cost of care. Thus, the removal of the sputum build-ups on or around an inserted ETT can prevent VAP and therefore lower the cost of health care. Moreover, the removal of sputum allows the evacuation tube to perform properly.
Known attempts to solve this problem have resulted in the use of saline solution as a suctioning solution by the care provider to loosen or dissolve the mucus build-up. In such a method, suction catheters are inserted into the trachea, and either continuous or intermittent vacuum or manual suctioning is applied to remove the sputum through the lumen of the ETT. Suctioning is also performed to remove secretions that get accumulated on the cuff of the ETT. Often, the accumulated sputum is too thick and viscous to be easily moved. Another complication that arises in ETTs with subglottic suctioning portions, lumens, and connector (i.e., EVAC tubes), particularly in the practice of continuous suctioning, is that it can lead to buildup of layers of dried secretions on the ETT cuff that can completely clog the suction portion of the subglottic suctioning ETT. Therefore, the use of saline is inefficient and cumbersome.
Therefore, there exists a problem with intubation where sputum and mucus buildup on the intubation tube cause pneumonia and the removal of which using saline solution is ineffective and burdensome. It is desirable therefore to provide a sputum dissolving suctioning solution to be used on the intubation tube that decreases the viscosity of the sputum, thus allowing effective removal of the sputum and mucus buildup from the tube.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a composition for dissolving sputum on a surface of a medical device and a method of using the same.